Aperture: Downfall
by FanfictionalRatt
Summary: Before Chell, before GLaDOS, there was Aperture Science. After the death of Cave Johnson, there is a fuzzy gap that was never quite filled. Prologue to After Aperture, this story explores the world before Chell, and fill the holes in a world where Aperture Science still functioned. Beyond law, morality, and science, this is the story of Aperture's Downfall.
1. Caroline

White hospital walls stung her eyes when she looked up. The frail man she didn't know remained on his little bed, breathing ever so shallowly as she looked away.

In the windows, she could see the sun begin to rise unto cloudy skies, radiating the sky in shades of muddy, dark purple. She never really liked that colour. Too dark, too demanding for its own right. But anything was better than the colour of night. A heavy, suffocating black, penetrated by the small, petty lights of the stars and the moon. It reminded her of the underground facility – a place she had come to love, yet despise over the long years she worked there.

Under the ground, there was none but man-made light, penetrating the quiet darkness that overpowered them all.

In a way, _he_ was like the darkness. He was always there, ever-powerful in the facility. Even as he lost his strength, his influence seemed to grow, echoed by the numerous recordings of his own, selfish voice. He was always there.

Yet now, he himself was disappearing, losing to the night.

 _This is the end._

Time seemed to slow as the words echoed in her mind, leaving traces of pain she just could not erase.

As her grip on his hand became stronger, his became slowly weaker. This man she never knew would accept death in silence.

She shut her eyes tightly, the world spinning around her.

And quietly, she let go.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._ The notifications rang out in quick succession as the man's hand fell, each time growing more urgent than the last. Nurses and doctors walked quickly towards the man as she took a step backwards, facing away from the dreaded scene in calm quietude.

He was gone. There was nobody who could save him now.

~oOo~

The funeral passed in silence.

Beside her, men and women she had never seen before cried over his loss, his siblings and cousins shedding tears as they spoke of his valiant deeds to their family and business.

The untimely death of Cave Johnson, founder and CEO of Aperture Science shook the world, taking it by storm. Known for his crazed lemon speech and the various other contributions the man had offered to the world, he was mourned all over America. Magazines and news shows showcased his death, eternalizing his image as the perpetrator of mad science, and 'the man who went crazy towards the end of his life'.

But to her, he was none of that.

He was her boss, he was her partner, and the creator of Aperture Science through and through. To Caroline, he was everything.

And now, she had lost him.

Looking up to the raining sky as the others wept, Caroline heaved a heavy sigh. Calm and collected, Caroline acted as she always did, addressing her problems in an orderly, logical fashion. Though he was gone, she wasn't. And she still had stuff to do.

The fact that there was something to keep her busy kept the thought of his death off her mind. For now – she knew as she greeted the next guests to the gathering – she was still in charge.

~oOo~

"Miss Caroline,"

A knock on the door announced the coming of another visitor to her office. It was exactly 3:00 in the afternoon as Caroline worked tirelessly to diminish the mound of paperwork that had built up on her desk.

"It's Greg, your new assistant?" The middle-aged Caucasian man showed his head from the door, giving Caroline an apprehensive glance. "There's a visitor waiting for you at the front desk, says he wants to meet with you directly."

"Dismiss him." She replied promptly with a wave of her hand, her eyes still focused on the papers before her. "I don't need any more visitors right now, especially not media or news reporters."

"Um…" Greg paused nervously, sweat dripping down clutched hands. "He's not from the media, Miss Caroline. He claims to have come from Black Mesa."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow, looking up to Greg for the first time. "I don't suppose they've come to kick dirt in our face, have they?"

Greg remained silent.

"…It was a rhetorical question." She sighed, looking back down to her paperwork. "Fine. Bring him in. But let him know that I will only address him for a few minutes."

Greg nodded, silently walking away as he closed the door behind him.

Massaging her temples, Caroline sighed for the second time that hour.

Different day, same thing. Days of chaos had passed since Cave Johnson's death; a mess of media nuisances, worried investors, and other people who had come attracted to the man's passing daily visiting her work chambers. Aperture had many poorly kept secrets, and the feeble financial state of their company was one of them.

It had been made terribly clear to her as the new CEO, that Aperture had been running low on their resources for a long time now.

Like a race car slowly skidding into a massive car crash, Aperture had been failing to produce income, spending too much time and money on their testing and concealing of unnecessary secrets. With the change of CEOs, it had become clear to many that Aperture wasn't going to survive for much longer. Like the titanic of old, it would die along with its owner.

But Caroline wasn't just going to let that happen. Not on her watch.

The first thing she did as CEO – to completely cut off the further underground facilities. The area where Cave Johnson had lived to create and maintain – would be discarded, thrown away like an old toy.

There were several reasons for this.

Aside from cutting costs off maintenance and exposing the hazards of what lay beneath their newly-found office, she had several 'other' reasons to hide what lay below. A majority of Cave Johnson's voice recordings would remain down there, echoing in the empty halls for an eternity to come.

It wasn't only to forget.

Now that he was gone, she had full control to do what she wished. And she wouldn't abide to his wishes. Not all of them, at least.

In the undergrounds of what already lay below the surface, Caroline hid a single, well-kept secret.

His last wish, she hoped, would never come to fruition.

"Miss Caroline?"

Another knock on the door. Then a creak of the large wooden entrance being opened. Caroline looked up at the disturbance, blowing away a single, stray strand of hair from her face.

"It's the guest. The one from Black Mesa?" Greg said softly, motioning to an unknown man behind him.

"Ah." Caroline folded her hands together. "Yes. Let him in."

As the unknown man came into the room, Greg closed the door, leaving the two to themselves. Silence continued on for some time as Caroline inspected him, making it very clear on her features that he was not welcome here.

The businessman-like attire of the man gave her an aura of superiority, his crisp blue suit and dark briefcase oddly mismatching the color of the man's green eyes. His neatly combed jet black hair and pale, somehow distinct features caught her eye before anything else – giving her an odd feeling that this 'guest', was no ordinary man. And she knew the quality of people when she saw them. Something about this man was different.

"Hello, Miss Caroline." The unknown man broke the silence first, an uneven smile displaying the man's gleaming, sharp teeth. His accent was not of a native speaker, as he pronounced each word with an odd lisp of his own. "I have come with a proposition on behalf of Black Mesa."

Glaring at him, she maintained a dignified silence. "…Go on."

He nodded. "We have heard of your…situation, as a company." He said, his voice jarring as she listened to his words. "It is of no secret to us that you need financial assistance, and quickly, to maintain your corporation. In fact, we have known from long before, that you will be needing our support." The man clutched on to his briefcase, as if solidly attached to it. "What do you say?"

For a second, she didn't respond. "I don't understand what you mean."

"Oh but you do." He replied with a thin smile. "You understand that we are backed by the government, yes?"

She didn't reply.

"Well, we have near unlimited sources because of that, and our financial…successes." He continued on, disregarding her silence. "We have the resources to financially support you, and your company, to continue in peace." He paused. "If you partner with us – we can be your patrons as you continue on with your research. All we need to do, is buy your company-"

"…Which I will not permit you to do." Caroline ended sharply. "I will _never_ allow this company to fall into the hands of Black Mesa. Even for the sake of financial gain."

"Oh." The man seemed to shrug, as if he had predicted the outcome. "Even for the sake of your company's survival?"

"Aperture is not dying." She replied with a cutting glare. "Aperture never has been, and I will make sure of that, on _my own_ terms." She set her folded hands down to the table, primly straightening her back to meet the standing stranger eye to eye. "Now if that's all you wanted, I suggest you get out."

"Of course," the man cocked his head, straightening his bowtie. "That is not the only bargain we have prepared."

Caroline sighed in frustration, almost ready to call the guards on him. "…What else, do you have up your sleeve?"

"…Well," The man smiled slyly. "A certain bit of…information has come to our ears that there may be something you've, _hidden_ , underneath the current office spaces." He paused. "What you've concealed there will not remain underground for long, Miss Caroline."

"So what if I've hidden something down there?" Caroline almost snapped, massaging her aching temples. "I'm not even asking how you've attained that information. That's none of your business."

"But it is." The man replied, still smiling thinly. " _Your_ survival, is our utmost concern, Miss Caroline. Even more so than attaining the company itself." He paused, surveying the obvious disbelief on her face. "We all know that you're going to die, and you will die a horrible death if the secret ever comes out. You understand which I am speaking off, yes?"

Caroline leaned her chin on white knuckles, saying nothing.

"We are capable of hiding it for you, Miss Caroline. We are capable of making sure it never comes to fruition. Nobody ever needs to know about it. We can make sure of that. Please," The man paused, reaching out a hand towards her. "We are asking to protect you, and you alone. It's either his wishes, or your own survival, Miss Caroline." He said quietly. "Pick your choice."

Caroline inhaled deeply. The attraction was there. She only needed to say one word, one word that would affect the course of her whole life.

She sighed as his last pre-recorded message echoed through her head.

"… _I will say this - and I'm gonna say it on tape so everybody hears it a hundred times a day: If I die before you people can pour me into a computer, I want Caroline to run this place. Now she'll argue. She'll say she can't. She's modest like that. But you make her. Hell, put her in my computer, I don't care."_

All she needed to do, was say yes.

But she couldn't.

Doing that would mean giving up the company to Black Mesa, which was unacceptable. Unacceptable to _him,_ and even her own standards. Saying yes, would mean defeat. And she wasn't one to give up easily.

"…I will live." She said finally. "And I will make this place live, with or without your help."

For a second, the man stood in silence, his brow raised in surprise.

"I've made my decision." She said quietly, glowering at him from where she sat. "And my decision is that we don't need you. _I_ don't need you. We will survive on our own," She paused. "We don't want your 'help'."

"Hm." The unknown man frowned, letting his free hand fall back to his side. "That is a shame."

"No." Caroline said flatly. "It isn't." She tapped her fingers on the table in agitation, willing herself control. "Now get out of this room. I am done with you."

"I suppose," The man sighed, fixing his bowtie. "That that is a fair proposition. But remember," He said slowly, looking up to her one last time. "We did ask to help you. We have given you the illusion of a choice for your survival, and you did not take it. Know that my beneficial offer ends here. We will not be held responsible for whatever happens next."

The man turned his back to the woman CEO as Caroline glared holes into his pristine blue suit, wishing he would walk away faster. "And mark my words," The man said slowly as he walked away. "You _will_ die. But in your death, you will live forever."

The door shut with a dull _thud,_ leaving Caroline alone in her silence.

In the shadows of her own office, Caroline's hands trembled slightly, whether in anger or fear, she did not know.

~oOo~

Dull days passed, each day feeling less significant than the rest.

Time went on without them knowing of her little secret – the GLaDOS project had been taken underground for around several months now. And that, was of no surprise to her. She had taken every precaution to hide it, even firing the people directly invested in the project beforehand.

But still she feared, every day.

It started out as a single, persistent thought; something she could ignore, but never really push away. Then the physical symptoms came, agitated stomach pains and headaches giving her more trouble than she'd bargained for. In the end, it was the irritation that was the worst – her originally soft personality toughening over time as she tried to ignore her single, deepest fear.

Caroline didn't want to live forever.

The thought alone chilled her to the bone, sometimes making her tear up at the thought of it. The notion of leaving everyone behind – the thought of becoming a computer, something less than human hurt her. But of all the bad thoughts, the knowledge that she would never see Cave again, wrenched at her heart the most. She didn't want to die, but she didn't want to live. Not forever. Not in a computer's body.

And yet, the GLaDOS project had not gone defunct.

It was a corporate dream to complete the project from the very beginning. To create something that would become the millennia's greatest invention, the thing would revolutionize lives, people – even going over America's famed trip to the moon. It would be the company's – no, the humanity's greatest achievement – had they completed the project.

Even now the GLaDOS project was rumored throughout Aperture, though the specifics had long since disintegrated to dust. To them, it was legendary.

And it would've stayed that way, had it not been for a single, treacherous 'mistake'.

That day, the world under Caroline's feet crumbled to ashes.


	2. REDACTED

They say it's the things you least expect that bring upon change. Like a blue butterfly that brings forth a raging tornado – it is the slightest of things that can cause destruction.

Aperture Science was never the best place to work in. At best, it was a shitty office job. In its worst, Aperture Science was secretly known for the manipulation and kidnapping of multiple homeless men and women. But well, a job was a job.

And he still needed to pay his bills.

[REDACTED], a (former) mechanical engineer of Aperture, was a middle-aged Caucasian man. The house he bought for his wife was never used – after an incident with his long-distance lover getting thrown out of her hotel room, the man was alone. Debt from the loan and the divorce were piling up, and just that day he had been kicked out of office, his (younger) boss smiling politely as he laid him off.

" _Fuck!"_ The man yelled loudly as he kicked the nearest trash bin.

The man had been working with Aperture for the past 20 years, ever since Cave Johnson had opened the underground testing facilities. Times were good back then, when Cave Johnson was in charge. Although he had never known the madman himself, he knew that his pay was plentiful, and as long as he ignored the screams of the damned test subjects, he would be rewarded for his work.

It was only after Caroline Johnson had taken over that they started going downhill. Financial concerns became more apparent, and he had heard from management that they were planning to cut up on expenses. It would be obvious to say that their most expensive debts went to paying their employees.

"Fuck!" The man repeated. "I should've known it would go downhill with a _woman_ in charge!"

At the offices, many were still astounded and angry at the fact that the company rights were now given to Cave's former wife – Caroline. Even in the current, modern decade of 1980, such huge corporate roles were never left to women – and although she had stood against all of that, opposition still blocked Caroline's path.

At the very least, this man was still angry.

He considered himself a good – no, one of the best engineers in his field, even turning down Black Mesa to work at Aperture Science. Sure, he realized he had older values, sometimes frowning when young, black scientists and interns crossed his path – but he was sensible. And more importantly: he was once the former project leader of the GLaDOS initiative.

Back in the golden days, when Cave Johnson held the reigns to the company – he was briefly assigned to be the project leader of Aperture's greatest endeavor yet. Sadly, that only lasted long enough before the whole project was shut down due to a change of management.

The man stopped in his tracks.

A change of management? How could a simple change of ownership vilify what was for the longest time known as Aperture's (soon to be) greatest achievement? How could one woman just _stop_ all that Cave Johnson had worked for up until that point?

 _There must be something she's hiding._

From a deeply engraved frown, the man cracked open a grin.

It had been exactly three hours and 45 minutes since he was fired. His access card would be usable to him the whole day, just the next 5 working hours before he would be completely cut off.

He had a plan.

~oOo~

"Hey Frank," The man's knuckles rapped on the glass windows ever so slightly, just to get the old guard's attention.

"Oh hey! I haven't seen you around these corners. It's been some time since you last visited the underground facilities eh?"

"Yeah it has been." The man said as he tapped his foot. "It's been a shit day so far – how are you?"

"Well I've been doing same as always." Frank grinned behind his neatly-trimmed moustache. "Ever since the Caroline administration I've been told to guard these parts – no idea, or explanation why."

"That's good to hear," The man responded politely. "I was actually wondering if I could pick up some of my documents from the old labs."

Frank raised a bushy eyebrow. "And whaddaya need from that? You know the old facilities have been shut down for months now. You should've gotten the documents while you were moving office."

The man frowned uncomfortably. "Look Frank," he started, a hand to his tie.

"I didn't really want to say this, but I was laid off today. By the new management."

Franks brows shot up, momentarily saying nothing. "…Go on."

"I kept some of my…er, _personal_ documents there, you know, for safekeeping. Research papers and blueprints that I'd like to keep with me through retirement."

"Huh," Frank tapped on his desk, unamused. "Well you know, rules are rules… I'm not supposed to let you in."

"Oh come on, Frank!" The man exclaimed, raising his hands. "This is literally my retirement wish. Let me have that, will you? Come on, for old times sake?"

Frank sighed deeply. "…Oh alright. You owe me a beer though." He chuckled.

Reaching for the wall beside him, Frank pulled the lever to signal the underground elevator. As the elevator came up, the man stepped in, waving at Frank.

"Thank you, I'll get you all the beers in the world when I'm through with this."

Frank blinked briefly, but smiled.

"You bet your ass I won't be forgetting that."

As the doors shut and the elevator left, the man snickered quietly to himself.

"You sure won't."

~oOo~

Greg ran into the elevator, excusing himself as best as he could while he squeezed into the tiny compartment.

In a matter of minutes, he had burst through the door of Caroline's office, his arms flailing in panic.

Caroline stared at him silently, giving him a moment to catch his breath. Words flew as they left Greg's mouth, and soon Caroline herself had bolted out of her seat, pushing him out of the way to get to the staircase.

"… _I will say this - and I'm gonna say it on tape so everybody hears it a hundred times a day:"_

In the upper floors of the corporate building, Cave Johnson's voice rang out for what seemed like the first time in years.

" _If I die before you people can pour me into a computer, I want Caroline to run this place."_

As people looked up from their cubicles, others looked towards each other for answers. There were none.

" _Now she'll argue. She'll say she can't._ _"_

Caroline ran down the stairs, as fast as her age and heels would allow her to. The world was spinning before her eyes, and as sweat ruined her make up, she envisioned the end of the world.

" _She's modest like that._ _"_

A mind trapped in a computer, a _machine_ that would live only as long as _they_ let her to. She didn't want this. She didn't want _any_ of this.

" _But you make her."_

As Caroline barged in through the office doors, people were standing from their cubicles, their hushed voices growing louder as they expressed their confusion.

" _Hell, put her in my computer, I don't care."_

Caroline could only stand there, as the eyes of the employees of Aperture Science turned to look at her. In seconds the hushed voices stopped, and all eyes were trained on her. As she quaked under her fierce façade, she knew:

This was the end.

But the downfall had just begun.


End file.
